


Unstoppable

by Nihilakh



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Day 2, F/F, Fighting AU, Mikannie Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 21:08:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17050604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nihilakh/pseuds/Nihilakh
Summary: Fighting isn't flirting. Right? Right?





	Unstoppable

“Stop staring,” Eren said as he cuffed Mikasa in the side of the head.

“Hey,” Mikasa said, rubbing the side of her head, “I’m paying attention!”

“If that was true, I’d _never_ have been able to do that,” he grinned, peering in the direction that had her so preoccupied. For him, it was easy to figure out. “It’s the blonde girl, right?”

Focusing back on the bag, she delivered a perfectly executed roundhouse kick to the bag. The resounding _thwack_ and the minimal shaking of the bag indicated the successful distribution of force.

“Nice one. I felt it in my arms.”

“Hm,” she hummed, eyes sliding over to the blonde girl sparring with a great behemoth of a man. When she looked back at Eren, he was staring at her. “What?”

“Come on, you know we have a regimen to maintain.”

Mikasa found it hilarious that Eren had such drive in him. But only when it came to this. She looked back over at the boxing ring set up in the center of the gym. “You’re right,” she conceded, “But look at that.” She pointed once again to the woman as she smoothly blocked and deflected the large man’s right jab, sending is fist careening off-target. She followed this up by bringing her right hand, shaped like a blade, the infamous ‘karate chop’ and under his arm to strike his now exposed nerve in his shoulder. Mikasa knew that strike would temporarily stun his arm. Mere moments later, the far shorter blonde’s hand went from a strike to opening up to grab his arm and pulled him forward and off balance. As he stumbled forward, she a roundhouse that Mikasa noted was not unlike her own made contact with his chest. The impact was audible even at Mikasa and Eren’s distance. Mikasa winced in sympathy for the man who was being put through his paces, as it turned out.

It went on like this for some time. It was apparent to both Eren and Mikasa that the man was a competent fighter, but the woman was incredibly fast. Every time he attempted to set the pace of the fight, it was as if he fell into another trap she set for him that brought him back to square one. Her technical proficiency was astounding.

“She’s not your Vegeta.”

Mikasa sent Eren a questioning look, “My what?”

“You know what I said,” he asserted.

“Just because I want to fight her-”

“See! There it is! It always starts that way. How about this, you have sparring with Levi at 6:30. Save your energy for where it's most productive.”

“I’ll be ready for Levi. And what do you mean ‘starts that way?’” She stepped to the side so that the bag was no longer between the two of them.

“Remember how you met Ymir? Yeah. Fighting.”

“Okay, but we’re still friends. You’re friends with her too. That was a lame example.”

“You’re lame,” he retorted quietly.

Mikasa glanced over at the ring once again, this time seeing them leaving the ring. “Right. Well, I’m going to go say hello.” She didn’t stop despite his exasperated sigh. She carefully navigated through the various workout areas and managed to approach the blonde and her apparent friends. The burly man sat beside an even taller man with whom he spoke quite jovially by the looks of it. The taller man handed him an ice pack. Sitting on the opposite edge of the ring was the woman who was actually shorter than she thought. It seemed odd that she was sitting so far away from them, but that was none of her business. “Hi,” Mikasa said simply.

The blonde slowly turned to regard her, “Hi,” she replied back. Mikasa thought the way she said it was odd.

“So, I saw you fight. You’re pretty good. I was wondering if you’d like to fight sometime.”

The blonde’s friends looked up at the developing conversation. The blonde quirked an eyebrow and leaned back against the ring. “No one just asks that. Who are you?”

_Ah, so that’s what it was._ That was Mikasa’s next thought as she picked up on the perceived oddity. The blonde had a distinct Russian accent. “I’m Mikasa Ackerman. I fight professionally and thought you seemed like someone who knew what they were doing.”

The blonde smirked, “Is that so, Ms. Ackerman? Well, if that’s the case, why don’t we take the time right now?”

Mikasa held up her hand, “We don’t have to. You’re probably tired from your previous bout. We can set up a time whenever you want.” Mikasa thought it would be unfair to fight her in this state.

“You think I’m that tired? It’s gonna take a lot more than that. Grab your gloves.” There was an edge to her words and a fire in her eyes that Mikasa could clearly see. Maybe she had taken it as a personal challenge?

“Oh, no, I don’t mean to insult you or anything.” Really, she didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot.

The woman smiled and rose to her feet. “ I assure you, I’m not insulted. You’ll see.”

“Are you sure?” Mikasa asked once more.

“Oh, she is!” The blonde man interjected. “When Annie gets like this, there’s no arguing.” Mikasa smiled, his positive vibe putting her at ease. “I’m Reiner by the way. And this here,” his large hand clapped down on the silent man’s shoulder, “is my man Bertholdt.”

“Hello,” Bertholdt greeted politely.

Mikasa smiled in return, “Well if you insist, I’ll be right back.” She made her way back to Eren, who had been observing the whole interaction, “Hey, can you grab my bag and bring it over there while I clean this space up?”

“Seriously? You want me to talk to them?”

“You’ll like them, Eren.”

“Whatever, mom,” he replied as he went to grab her stuff. While he kindly did so, she tidied up the space they had used and returned to the ring where Eren had already fallen into the easy flow of conversation with Reiner and Bertholdt. Annie was warming up in the ring.

When she noticed Mikasa’s approach, she walked to the edge of the ring and leaned on the ropes. “No helmet or pads?” Mikasa asked, noticing the lack of such for a sparring match.

“You’re a professional, right? We don’t need all that.”

Thus far, Mikasa had thought she’d been pretty polite. Sure, maybe it was a bit odd that she, a random person strolled over and requested a fight, but she agreed. This was quite the cold shoulder from one so pretty. “If that’s what you want.”

“Mikasa, this is getting to be too much,” Eren argued as he handed her her gloves. “What if you get hurt?”

“We haven’t even scheduled our next fight yet.”

“I know, but-”

“Eren.”

He sighed. “Fine.”

Mikasa put her gloves on, flexing her hands into the familiar material. Annie backed up to the center of the ring as Mikasa entered. Already her heart began to race and her gut had that nervous, excited energy she always felt in the moments just before she took action. She made sure to breathe evenly and readied her stance. “Ready when you are,” she called to Annie. Taking that as an invitation, Annie moved first. Annie was fast, opening up with a series of light jabs just to feel out her opponent. Mikasa dashed in to meet her. A flurry of blows was exchanged. Annie’s hooks came fast and hard, clashing against her guard.

In the opening moves, it was clear to Mikasa that she had not underestimated her capability, but seeing as this was her second fight, her stamina could not last forever. This frenetic opening was a reckless move. Knocking aside the latest jab, she used her superior height to move in close, contrary to what would be expected of a taller opponent. Hands up to guard her head, she took to hooks to either side followed up by an uppercut. It connected solidly and it was in that moment that she truly began to _really_ feel for Reiner. It was a heavy hit, but her conditioning regimen was nothing to sneeze at. At such close range, Mikasa delivered a swift left elbow strike to Annie’s head. She stumbled from the heavy return and the ravenette took advantage. Grabbing Annie by the shoulders she drove her knee forward into her gut before pushing her back.

This was the first step of her fighting strategy. Mikasa was methodical. Like a game, the opening move had to be aggressive. Normally, the shorter fighter would have the advantage in close range combat. Taller fighters could not use their reach and when it came to grappling, their higher center of gravity left them susceptible to takedowns. By moving into the closest possible range, where only elbows and knees were effective points of contact, she hoped to shock her opponents and discourage them from traditionally sound tactics. At this point, the advantage would be all hers. Refusing to give any actual breathing room, she advanced once more, beginning the next exchange of blows with a straight strike. At the last possible moment, Annie sidestepped to her right and launched a quick jab that tagged Mikasa’s jaw. As her hand retracted, Annie delivered a side kick, her foot launching out like a blade.

The power of the kick was second only to its penetration. It was precisely at this moment that she truly knew the caliber of the fighter before her. The side kick is a very simple technique. It is often one of the first taught but is also the most difficult to master. When it is, is perhaps the most powerful kick in a martial artist’s arsenal. Stunned by this kick, a roundhouse to the head was unavoidable. Mikasa stumbled backward, disoriented by the fierce counterattack. Shaking her head to clear it, she readied herself for the next attack. She attempted to inhale and wheezed instead. The wind had been knocked out of her then. She needed time to catch her breath. In pursuit of this, she went on the defensive, waiting for the ideal punch from Annie. The next strike was the one she had been waiting for, grabbing her arm and throwing Annie over her shoulder. Following the takedown, she descended on her, using her height and weight to her advantage in ground combat.

Annie landed flat on her back. Mikasa had chosen to fall with her, landing on top of her in side control. She was tired, her abs were sore and her lungs burned. Likewise, she surmised Annie must be tired as well. It was time to finish this.

Suddenly, Annie’s arm shot down to Mikasa’s right bicep and broke her stability. At the same time, Annie scooted her hip to the left. She felt her arm get knocked away between Annie’s legs. Annie brought her knees toward herself. Mikasa was taken completely by surprise at the sudden burst of speed. Without her hand for support, Mikasa’s head leaned over Annie. She had only moments to look over at Annie and see the fire in those shockingly gorgeous blue eyes before her head was smacked in between Annie’s legs. It was another trick and she had fallen for it despite her best efforts. Her energy was tremendous. Mikasa knew what was coming and was furious that she had walked right into it. The blonde’s left leg wrapped around her neck and was locked in by her right leg. The only way for Mikasa to escape this reverse triangle hold was to not let her right arm be pulled away by Annie, which would surely decide this fight. She felt Annie’s iron grip wrap around her wrist and resisted with all her strength. She couldn’t move her left arm either, restrained as it was by the devious blonde. The flow of the fight had turned against her.

She refused to fail. Mikasa pulled with all her might, utterly unwilling to fail no. She broke the grip and using her now free hand, she pushed against the legs that were quickly cutting off her air. Already, her vision began to darken around the edges. Her limbs were heavy and she grunted and groaned with the strain of trying to escape this hold.

By some miracle, she broke the leg-lock and rolled to the right, free and cleat of Annie. The sensation of inhaling fresh air was blessedly painful. She looked over to Annie, dizzy and out of focus. If she was seeing straight, Annie seemed as exhausted as she was.

“Wow. Okay, that was something,” Reiner said, somewhere between impressed and concerned. He clapped Eren on the shoulder, “Your sister can really fight!” Bertholdt nodded sagely.

“Yeah…” Eren trailed off, redirecting his attention on the fighters, “You guys finished?”

“Yeah.” Mikasa rose from her prone position and made her way over to Annie. She extended a hand to the blonde who eyed her warily. “Good fight. I had fun.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the smallest smile cracked her stoic expression. She accepted the help up. “I’m impressed.”

“I should be the one saying that. You could be a professional.” Together, they walked to the edge of the ring where the others waited with towels and water bottles. “And that choke? I didn’t think you had the energy for that. I apologize for underestimating your stamina.”

Annie quirked an eyebrow, “Do you?” Then, before Mikasa could comment she moved on, “Don’t worry about it. Besides, your strength is nothing to scoff at. I couldn’t believe you broke my grip.”

The trio watched the conversation with mounting interest.

“Do you want to fight again sometime? I’d like to set up a time,” Mikasa looked over to Eren, “Can you get my phone?” Eren looked between the two of them, seemingly lost in thought. “Eren?”

“Huh?” Eren asked as he snapped back to attention, “O-oh, yeah. I’ll get it.” Passing it into her hands, she passed it to Annie.

“I’ll put myself in your contacts.” She tapped away at the screen for a moment. “Thanks for the fight, but I must get going.”

“Oh. Sure.” They shook hands and exited the ring. They packed their gear and made their way out of the gym. Mikasa noticed a particularly stern look on Eren’s face, evidenced by the tightness in his jaw. “Something wrong?”

“You did it again.”

“Did what?”

“You totally asked her out in there!”

“I did not. When did I do that?” She was confused. All they did was fight and set up another one.

“This is just like Ymir. You did the same exact thing.” By now, they were at their car, a relatively new black SUV. He opened up the back of the vehicle and together they put their bags in.

“It was just a sparring session.”

“That’s basically a date for you,” Eren replied with just a hint of condescension.

Mikasa hopped into the passenger seat and looked down at Annie’s contact in her phone. “But she would think it’s only for sparring. Who considers sparring a date?”

“You and Ymir did,” he deadpanned.

She put her head in her hands, “Oh my god. I asked her out.”

Eren nodded sagely, “Yup.”

“What do I do?” she suddenly felt very far out of her depth.

Eren sighed, “Well, you call her and set up the session.”

“Really? I didn’t expect that.”

“Why not? She’s a total badass and Reiner seemed pretty cool. Plus, you’re totally interested.

“But what if it’s not the same for her?” Sure, maybe Mikasa was interested in both fighting and getting to know her, but that didn’t mean the reverse was true.

“Look, I know I’m not the most observant guy,” Eren finally started the car and began the drive home, “but it seemed to me that Reiner and Bertholdt were surprised by your conversation.”

“You don’t even know them,” she pointed out.

“No, but when I saw you guys fight…” he smiled slightly as he trailed off.

Mikasa regarded  him with warm curiosity, “What did you see?”

“No. It’s stupid,” he deflected, “It-it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Come on, just tell me.” He wasn’t usually so reticent.

“It just seemed like you guys ‘click.’ Like, you both seemed to love the fight. Like in the ways I would normally only say you do, I felt like I saw it in Annie too.”

She was still staring at her phone as they pulled up to their apartment. Entering her room, she threw herself onto her bed. “Ow. Fuck.” Those bruises were definitely beginning to make themselves known.

“Yeah, I’ll call Levi and reschedule for tomorrow,” Eren said from her doorway.

“That soon?”

“Time waits for no one,” he chimed.

“What are you going to do?” She asked him.

“I’m going to meet up with Armin in a few. You call Annie.”

“But what if she isn’t interested”

Eren stared at her. He seemed shocked, baffled even. “You’re Mikasa-Fucking-Ackerman. Who isn’t into you?” And with that, he was gone.

She drew her phone from her pocket and stared once more at Annie’s contact info. Was it too early to call her? Probably, But she was Mikasa-Fucking-Ackerman and she fought for what she wanted. And when she wanted something, she was unstoppable. With a smile, she tapped the screen.

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2, here it is. Hope y'all like it.


End file.
